China establishes highest military award

BEIJING: China has established its highest military award, the Order of August 1, which marks the founding anniversary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

The selection process for the first batch of winners has begun.

Approved by the Central Military Commission, the Order of August 1 will be awarded to those who have made outstanding contributions to safeguarding the country's sovereignty, security and development interests, and advancing the modernization of national defense and the armed forces.

A list of 17 candidates nominated by the PLA, the armed police force and public security force have been made public to receive comments both from the military and the general public, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.

Chinese astronaut Jing Haipeng, commander of the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft, is among the 17 candidates.

August 1 is the founding anniversary of the 2.3 million- strong PLA.